[Note: This compendium of Roman proverbs and Latin phrases was originally assembled for the edification of my partners' sons, Anton and Sergei. Study of the classics was always one refuge for unfettered academic inquiry in Soviet days, since it was difficult to get too dangerously political about a people 1,500 years dead. Happily today, classicism still thrives, unlike here. I selected proverbs I thought most relevant to the Russian experience, but in fact nil novi sub sole. Human nature doesn't change that much across time or space, so I reprint here the annotations as I wrote them for the Russians.]

A surprising number of these serious expressions for law, letters, logic, science, philosophy, medicine are still used today. You will notice that the pithiest phrases that impart important lessons in life often rhyme or rely on alliteration, which is why they have passed often unchanged into English. Most of these expressions date from the Classical period, hence I use classical orthography as you would see it inscribed on architraves or written in scrolls, not the later Vulgate form used in the Middle Ages.
Latin has no articles (a, an, the), however I've inserted them to clarify meaning. Latin has no "K", "J" or "W". "U" is rendered as "V", and pronounced like "w". Classical Latin had neither lower case nor punctuation.
Words in square brackets [] are implied but generally not written in the original Latin phrase; it is especially common to omit the verb "to be" and personal pronouns when they're the subject. The symbolic shorthand of an highly inflected language is second-nature to Russians, but difficult for native English speakers to grasp.
English words in single quotes '' are not exact translations of the Latin but do express the same idea exactly, therefore these translations may be used verbatim.
When you use Latin in writing today, the words should be rendered in Italics.

ROMAN PROVERBS & LATIN PHRASES TRANS. & ANNOT. into ENGLISH

Classical Latin

Literal English

Idiomatic English

Annotations

AB AETERNO

from eternity

from the beginning of time
no date established
it has always been this way

AB ASINO LANAM

wool from an ass

blood from a stone
impossible

AB VRBE CONDITA

from the founding of the city

abbreviated A.U.C., specifically used for Roman dates, reckoned from the founding of that city in 753 BCE

A CAPPELLA

in church [style]

i.e. vocal music only

ACTA NON VERBA

actions not words

motto of U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at King's Point

ACTVS REVS

wrongful act

as opposed to mens rea - the wrongful intention or guilty mind

AD ASTRA PER ASPERA

to the stars through difficulties

motto of The National Space Society

AD CALENDAS GRAECAS

at the Greek calends

never

because the Greek did not reckon time with calends

AD HOC

to this

for a particular purpose
spur of the moment

AD INFINITVM

to infinity

without end

AD LIBITVM

to pleasure

perform without a plan
freely

nowadays used in short form ad lib

AD MAIOREM DEI GLORIAM

for the greater glory of God

AD NAVSEVM

to [the point of] disgust

ADVOCATVS DIABOLI

devil's advocate

nowadays, a person who takes the unpopular side of an argument

ALEA IACTA EST

the die is cast

there's no going back
what's next is in the hands of the gods

irreversible act

ALMA MATER

fostering mother

one's old school

AMICVS CVRIAE

friend of the court

person not party to the case who submits material of probitive value

AMOR VINCIT OMNIA

love conquers all

ANNO DOMINI

year of the Lord

abbreviated A.D.

ANNVIT COEPTIS

[He] has favored [our] undertaking

divine favor

motto above the pyramid on the back of the U.S. dollar

ANNVS MIRABILIS

wonderful year

not just any good year, but a momentous year in history such as 1848, 1968, or 1989

ANNVS TERRIBILIS

terrible year

just the opposite of above, an especially rotten year such as 1346, 1914, or 2001

A POSTERIORI

from what comes after

inductive reasoning based on observation, as opposed to deductive, or a priori

AQVA VITAE

water of life

akvavit
in general, distilled spirits

see parallel Gaelic uiskabagh, "water of life", i.e. whiskey

ARS GRATIA ARTIS

art for art's sake

statement that art needs no external justification, as opposed to commercial art

ARS LONGA, VITA BREVIS

art is long [while] life is short

art lasts forever

while affairs of the moment are forgotten

AVREA MEDIOCRITAS

the golden mean

moderation in all things

truth and goodness are generally to be found in the middle, not the extremes

AVE ATQVE VALE

hail and farewell

BONA FIDE

in good faith

CAMERA OBSCVRA

hidden room

an early photographic or painting technique utilizing optical pinholes

CARPE DIEM

seize the day

eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we may die

CARTAGO DELENDA EST

Carthage must be destroyed

CASVS BELLI

occasion of war

the act which starts a war

CAVEAT EMPTOR

let the buyer beware

CAVEAT VENDOR

let the seller beware

modern counter-principle of above

CAVE QVID DICIS, QVANDO ET CVI

beware what you say, when and to whom

CETERIS PARIBVS

other things being equal

CIRCA

about,
approximately

abbreviated c or ca.

CAELVM NON ANIMVM MVTANT QVI TRANS MARE CVRRVNT

those who cross the sea [only] change the sky, not their spirits

no matter how far you go, you always take yourself with you

COGITO ERGO SVM

I think therefore I am

fundamental axiom by Descartes in XVIII, not Roman

CORPVS DELICTI

the body of the crime

tangible evidence of wrongdoing, the smoking gun

as opposed to mere circumstances or indications

CREDO QVIA ABSVRDVM

I believe it [because] it's absurd

this sentiment would translate very well into Russian

CVI BONO

for whom [is it] good?

to find the criminal, first learn who profited from the crime

CVM GRANO SALIS

[take] with a grain of salt

be skeptical

CVM TACENT CLAMANT

when they are silent, they cry out

silence is an admission of guilt

CVNCTANDO REGITUR MUNDIS

waiting, one rules the world

waiting, one conquers all

CVRAE LEVES LOQVVNTVR INGENTES STVPENT

lesser griefs talk, great ones are speechless

in for a penny, in for a pound;
might as well be hung for a sheep instead of a lamb;
leave no witnesses

as Machiavelli said, And let it here be noted that men are either to be kindly treated, or utterly crushed, since they can revenge lighter injuries, but not graver. Wherefore the injury we do to a man should be of a sort to leave no fear of reprisals

CVRRICVLVM VITAE

the course of [one's] life

a resume

DAMNANT QVOD NON INTELLIGVNT

they condemn what they do not understand

DE ASINI VMBRA DISCEPTARE

to argue about the shadow of an ass

petty things for petty minds

DE FACTO

from the fact

in reality
actually in power

as opposed to...

DE IVRE

from the law

legal

but not real or not in power

DE GVSTIBVS NON DISPVTANDVM EST

in [matters] of taste, there's no argument

DE MORTVIS NIL NISI BONVM

of the dead, [say] nothing but good

never speak ill of the dead

DE NIHILO NIHIL

nothing from nothing

also, ex nihilo nihil fit you can't create something from nothing

DE PROFVNDIS

out of the depths [of sorrow and despair]

DE RERVM NATVRA

on the nature of things

title of Marcus Aurelius's magnum opus

DEO GRATIS

thanks be to God

DEUS VOLENT

[as] God wills

DEVS EX MACHINA

god from the machine

a contrived plot device, usually a sign of bad writing or bad thinking

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

persons of the drama

cast of characters

DVM SPIRO SPERO

while [there's] life, [there's] hope

DVM VIVIMVS VIVAMVS

while we live let us live

Epicurean motto

DVRA LEX SED LEX

hard [is the] law but [it's the] law

E PLVRIBVS VNVM

out of many, one

motto on the US dollar

ECCE HOMO

behold the man

words first spoken by Pontius Pilate when he showed Jesus crowned by thorns to the mob

ENSE ET ARATRO

with sword and plow

citizen-soldier, one who serves in war and peace

ERRARE HVMANVM EST

to err is human

the second half of the phrase is "to forgive, divine"

ET CETERA

and others

abbreviated etc.

ET TV BRVTE

you also Brutus

Caesar's dying recognition of betrayal

EX CATHEDRA

from the chair

from high authority
infallible

EX PEDE HERCVLEM

from the foot of Hercules

one can judge the whole from a sample

EX POST FACTO

from what is done afterwards

after the fact, or retroactive

one form of logical fallacy

EXCEPTIO PROBAT REGVLAM

the exception establishes the rule

not that all rules must have exceptions, but that exceptions help define rules better

EXEMPLI GRATIA

by way of example

abbreviated e.g.

EXTINCTVS AMABITVR IDEM

the same [hated] man will be loved after he's dead

how quickly we forget

FABAS INDVLCET FAMES

hunger sweetens beans

hunger is the best seasoning

FACILIS DESCENSVS AVERNO

the descent to Avernus (Hell) [is] easy

it's easy to fall, hard to rise

FELIS QVI NIHIL DEBET

happy [is] he who owes nothing

FIAT LVX

let there be light

Biblical

FIAT VOLVNTAS TVA

let Thy will [be done]

Biblical

FIDES PVNICA

Punic [Carthaginian] faith

i.e. a double cross

FINEM RESPICE

look to the end [before setting forth]

FLAGRANTE DELICTO

with the crime blazing

caught in the act

FORTES FORTVNA FORTIBVS

fortune favors the brave

you make your own luck

FORTITER IN RE, SVAVITER IN MODE

resolutely in the thing [deed], gently in manner

do what is necessary, but do it as gently as possible

FRONTI NVLLA FIDES

on the front no reliance [can be placed]

don't judge a book by its cover
don't be misled by appearances

GAVDEAMVS IGITVR

let us rejoice therefore

Biblical

HABEAS CORPVS

[that] you have the body

a legal writ requiring that the person being detained be brought before a judge to show cause and guard against unfair imprisonment; basis of British and American jurisprudence

HAEC OLIM MEMINISSE IVVABIT

time heals all things

i.e. wounds, offenses

HANNIBAL AD PORTAS

Hannibal is at the gates

the best colloquial translation in American English is regrettably, "the Russians are coming"

HIC ET NVNC

here and now

immediately

HOC EST VIVERE BIS VITA POSSE PRIORE FRVI

to live twice is to make useful profit from one's past

Experience is the best teacher, so learn from her

HOC VOLO SIC IVBEO SIT PRO RATIONE VOLVNTAS

this I will, thus I command, let [my] will [serve] as reason

HODIE MIHI CRAS TIBI

today to me tomorrow to you

epitaph to remind reader of own mortality

HOMO DOCTVS IS SE SEMPER DIVITIAS HABET

a learned man always has wealth within himself

HOMO LVPVS HOMINI

man [is a] wolf to man

man's inhumanity to man

HOSTIS HVMANI GENERIS

enemy of the human race

Saddam, for instance

IBIDEM

in the same place

abbreviated ibid.

ID EST

that is

abbreviated i.e.

IESV NAZARENVS REGIS IVDAEORVM

Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews

Roman inscription over Christ's cross, always abbreviated INRI

IGNIS AVREM PROBAT, MISERIA FORTES VIROS

fire tests gold, adversity [tests] strong men

Nietzsche: 'That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger'

IGNOTI NVLLA CVPIDO

no desire [exists] for [a thing] unknown

you can't want what you don't see

Why not to broadcast Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in the Third World

IN ARTICVLO MORTIS

in the grip of death

a deathbed statement carries special weight, also in extremis

IN BELLO PARVIS MOMENTIS MAGNI CASVS INTERCEDVNT

in war great events result from small causes

for want of a nail, a shoe was lost
for want of a shoe, a horse was lost
for want of a horse, a courier was lost
for want of a courier, a battle was lost
and so, the kingdom was lost

armies win that screw up least, so pay attention to detail

IN CAMERA

in chambers

judicial proceeding from which the public is excluded

IN CAVDA VENENVM

in the tail [is the] poison

watch out for what you don't see
look beyond the obvious

IN HOC SIGNO VINCES

by this sign you shall conquer

miraculous apparition to Emperor Constantine at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 306 CE

IN LOCO PARENTIS

in place of parents

IN MEDIA RES

into the midst of things

into the middle of the story
doing something without background or preparation

as opposed to ab ovo "from the egg" or ab initio "from the beginning"

IN NOMINE PATRIS ET FILII ET SPIRITVS SANCTI

in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost

Biblical

IN SAECVLA SAECVLORVM

for ages of ages

forever

IN SITV

in place

INSANVS OMNIS FVRERE CREDIT CETEROS

every madman thinks everybody else is mad

IN VINO VERITAS

in wine [there is] truth

IN TOTO

in total

i.e., without changes; all at once

INFRA DIGNITATEM

beneath [one's] dignity

INTEGER VITAE

blameless of life

an honorable life

INTER ALIA

among other [things]

INTERREGNVM

period between rules

anarchy, lawlessness

IPSA QVIDEM PRETIVM VIRTVS SIBI

virtue is its own reward

IPSE DIXIT

he himself said so

assertion relying on personal authority, not fact

IPSO FACTO

by the fact itself

IVS EST ARS BONI ET AEQVI

law is the art of the good and the just

IVS GENTIVM

right of tribes

law of nations
international law

LAPSVS LINGVAE

slip of the tongue

LAVDEM VIRTVTIS NECESSITATI DAMVS

we give to necessity the praise of virtue

finding the benefit in what's needful

LEX NON SCRIPTA

unwritten law

common law

English law based on custom

LEX TALIONIS

the law of retaliation

an eye for an eye

LINGVA FRANCA

French tongue

the common or universal language

LVCVS A NON LVCENDO

a grove from the absence of light

a thing whose essence is the opposite of what its name suggests

an absurd etymology, e.g. ?
or, Orwellian

LVSVS NATVRAE

sport of nature

a freak

MAGNVM OPVS

great work

the major work of one's life

MAIOR E LONGINQVO REVERENTIA

greater reverence from afar

familiarity breeds contempt

nothing propinks like propinquity

MALESVADA FAMES

persuading to evil

hunger that leads to crime

in French, jaquerie

MEA CVLPA

my crime

my fault

MEDICE, CVRA TE IPSVM

physican heal thyself

also, take one's own advice

MEMENTO MORI

remember you must die

reminder of death, or a death's head

MENDACEM MEMOREM ESSE OPORTET

it is fitting that a liar [should be a man of good] memory

Robert Burns: 'Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we learn to deceive.'

MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO

a sound mind in a sound body

one cannot be sane without being healthy

MIRABILE DICTV

remarkable to say

MIRABILE VISV

wonderful to see

MOBILE VVLGVS

the moveable public

the fickle mob

MODVS OPERANDI

method of operation

abbreviated M.O.

MODVS VIVENDI

way of living [together]

MORITVRI TE SALVTEMVS

we who are about to die salute you

traditional salute given to Roman emperors by gladiators in the arena before combat

MORS TVA, VITA MEA

your death, my life

you must die so that I can live

MORTVI NON MORDANT

dead [men] don't bite

dead men tell no tales

MVLTI SVNT VOCATI, PAVCI VERO ELECTI

many are called [but] few are chosen

MVNDVS VVLT DECIPI

the world wishes to be deceived

there's a sucker born every minute

MVTATIS MVTANDIS

the things that ought to have changed having been changed

with the necessary substitutions having been made

NASCENTES MORIMVR

from the moment of birth we begin to die

NATVRA NON FACIT SALTVM

nature makes no leaps

gradualism; however the discovery of the Dino Killer's footprint in Chixulub, Yucutan may have invalidated this seemingly sensible principle

NE CEDE MALIS

do not yield to misfortune

NE PLVS VLTRA

not further beyond

a highest or furthest point

implicitly a suggestion to stay put or better yet go back, nowadays used incorrectly as a synonym for 'best'

NE QVID NIMIS

nothing in excess

NEC PLVRIBVS IMPAR

not unequal to most

a match for anyone

motto of Louis XIV of France "the Sun King"; good example of litote or understatement by which an affirmative thought is expressed by stating the negative of the contrary thought

NEMO LIBER EST QVI CORPORI SERVIT

no one is free who is a slave to his body

NEMO MALVS FELIX

no bad man [is] happy

no peace unto the wicked

NEMO ME IMPVNE LACESSIT

no one provokes me with impunity

back off or be sorry

NEMO REPENTE FVIT TVRPISSIMVS

no one ever became extremely wicked all of a sudden

NIHIL AGENDO HOMINES MALE AGERE DISCVNT

by doing nothing men learn to act wickedly

or as the Bible says, idle hands are the Devil's workshop

NIL DESPERANDVM

nothing is to be despaired of

never say die

Yogi Berra: 'the game ain't over til it's over'

NIL NOVI SVB SOLE

nothing new under the sun

is more about human nature than our inventions

NOLENS, VOLENS

[being] unwilling, willing

doing something you don't really want to do, willy-nilly, haphazardly

NOLI ME TANGERE

touch me not

spoken by Jesus to Mary Magdalen after his Resurrection
a person or thing that can't be touched
a warning to stay away or uninvolved

NOLLE PROSEQVI

to wish not to proceed

procurator's statement abandoning the proceedings

NOLO CONTENDERE

I don't want to fight

equivalent to admission of guilt and subject to punishment, but allows legal option to deny charges later

NON BIS IN IDEM

not twice for the same thing

Latin proscription against double jeopardy in the courts

NON COMPOS MENTIS

not sound mind

insane, crazy

NON EST VIVERE SED VALERE VITA EST

life is not being alive but being well

NON IGNARA MALI, MISERIS SVCCVRRERE DISCO

no stranger to misfortune [myself] I learn to relieve the sufferings [of others]

NON MIHI, NON TIBI, SED NOBIS

not for you, not for me, but for us

the foundation of a good relationship

NON NOVA SED NOVE

not new things but newly

in a new way

NON OMNIA POSSVMVS OMNES

we cannot all do everything

no one can become an expert in everything

NON OMNIS MORIAR

I shall not [completely] die

Horace telling us that his works would live forever

NON SEMPER EA SVNT QVAE VIDENTVR

things are not always what they appear to be

see also non teneas aurum totum quod splendet ut auram

NON SEMPER ERIT AESTAS

[it] will not always be summer

make hay while the sun shines
be prepared for hard times

NON SEQVITVR

[it] does not follow

illogical, nonsense

NOTA BENE

note well

abbreviated N.B.

NOVVS HOMO

new man

but really means parvenu or nouveau riche or novy Russkii

NVDVM PACTVM

a nude pact

an invalid agreement

a contract with illusory benefits or without consideration hence unenforceable

NVLLVM QVOD TETIGET NON ORNAVIT

he touched none he did not adorn

not simply 'the Midas touch', or 'he left things better than he found them', but a tribute to a Renaissance man

NVNC AVT NVNQVAM

now or never

NVNC DIMITTIS

now let [thy servant] depart

generally any permission to go, specifically to express one's readiness to depart or die

NVNC PRO TVNC

now for then

retroactive

OBITER DICTVM

[thing] said by the way

parenthetical remark

OBSTA PRINCIPIIS

resist the beginnings

nip it in the bud
a stitch in time saves nine
an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

don't wait for something to get worse before fixing it

ODERINT DVM METVANT

[let] them hate while they fear

let them hate me as long as they fear me

could have been Lavrentiy Pavlovich's [Beria's] personal motto

OLEVM ADDERE CAMINO

to pour fuel on the stove

adding gasoline to a fire
to make a bad thing worse
to aggravate the situation

OLEVM PERDISTI

you have lost oil

you've wasted your time on this

criticism for a misallocation of resources

OMNE IGNOTVM PRO MAGNIFICO EST

everything unknown is thought to be magnificent

'the grass is greener on the other side of the fence'

but also, everything unknown is thought to be more difficult than it really is

OMNES DETERIORES SVMVS LICENTIA

too much freedom debases us

OMNE TRINVM EST PERFECTVM

everything [in] threes is perfect

old proverb reflecting the mystical power of the number three; source of the doctrine of the Trinity?

OMNE TVLIT PVNCTVM QVI MISCVIT VTILE DVLCI

[he] has gained every point who has combined [the] useful [with the] agreeable

OMNIA MVTANTVR NOS ET MVTAMVR IN ILLIS

all things change and we change with them

OPERE CITATO

in the work cited

scholarly footnote, abbreviated op. cit.

ORATVR FIT, POETA NASCITVR

an orator is made [but] a poet is born

O TEMPORES, O MORES!

Oh the times, oh the customs!

these are bad times

PANEM ET CIRCENSES

bread and circuses

nowadays, welfare and TV

PAR PARE REFERO

I return like for like

tit for tat

retaliation

PARES CVM PARIBVS

like persons with like persons

birds of a feather flock together
people will seek out their own kind

PARI PASSV

with equal pace

PARTVRIENT MONTES, NASCETVR RIDICVLVS MVS

mountains will be in labor [and a] ridiculous mouse will be born

all that work and nothing to show for it

PARVA LEVES CAPIVNT ANIMAS

small things sieze light minds

petty things for petty minds

PASSIM

here and there

PATRIS EST FILIVS

he is his father's son

'chip off the old block'

see also qualis pater talis filius

PAVPERTAS OMNIVM ARTIVM REPERTRIX

poverty [is the] inventor of all the arts

necessity is the mother of invention

PAX VOBISCVM

[may] peace [be] with you

PECCAVI

I have sinned

the shortest and cleverest military dispatch of all time, see also Caesar's veni vidi vici. British general Sir Charles Napier wrote the single word peccavi as a pun to communicate his victory at the city of Miani in the Indian region of Sindh in 1843, i.e. 'I have Sindh.'

PECVNIAE OBEDIVNT OMNIA

all things obey money

money makes the world go round

PECVNIA NON OLET

money doesn't smell

'don't look a gift horse in the mouth'

PENETRALIA MENTIS

the innermost recesses of the mind

'heart of hearts'

PER ACRIA BELLI

through the harshness [better: bitterness or savagery] of war

PER DIEM

by the day

as opposed to a fixed price, nowadays used to mean the daily living allowance on business travel

PER FAS ET NEFAS

through right or wrong

PER IMPOSSIBILE

as is impossible

a way to qualify a proposition that cannot ever be true

PER SE

by itself

PERICVLVM IN MORA

danger in delay

PERMITTE DIVIS CETERA

[when you have done all that is prudent] leave the rest to the gods

'you pays your money and you takes your chances'

PERSONA NON GRATA

person not pleasing

or unwelcome person

a declaration used in diplomacy prior to deporting someone, occasionally abbreviated P.N.G.

PLVRES CRAPVLA QVAM GLADIVS

drunkeness [kills] more than the sword

as true today on the road as it ever was

PONS ASINORVM

bridge of asses

bridge of fools

an insoluble problem

PONTIFEX MAXIMVS

great bridge-builder

high priest

more specifically the Bishop of Rome, i.e. the Pope

POSSE COMITATVS

the power of a county

"posse" as in American Western movies, a group of people enlisted on the spot by the law to pursue a criminal

also means the proscription in America against the use of the military for internal police matters, from 1878.

POSSVNT QVIA POSSE VIDENTVR

they can because they seem to be able to

the appearance of power bestows power

also, perception of power can be as important as the power itself

POST EQVITEM SEDET ATRA CVRA

behind the horseman sits black care

no one is free of worry

POST HOC ERGO PROPTER HOC

after this therefore because of this

a logical fallacy; things that follow one another are not always related

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